Polar Bear Subpopulations

Polar Bears and Sea Ice Regions

Polar bears need a platform of sea ice to reach their prey: Arctic seals. But not all sea ice is equal—some sea ice lies over more productive hunting areas and some ice ecoregions will melt sooner than others in a warming Arctic. Scientists have currently identified 20 subpopulations of polar bears living in four different ice ecoregions in the Arctic. Why does it help to divide the Arctic into ecoregions? For those polar bear subpopulations that are little-studied, scientists can make informed estimates on how they're faring based on the health and condition of other subpopulations in the same ecoregion.

Step One

Watch this short video explaining the Four Ice Ecoregions (shown on the map below). You will also learn more about these ecoregions in Module 3C.

This video is available for download for AAC use and one of few resources with French, French (Canadian), and German subtitles

Polar bear ecoregions map

Where do Polar Bears Live?

Polar Bear Population Distribution by Sea Ice Ecoregion

Polar bears live on vastly different landscapes, driven largely by the sea ice ecoregion in which they reside. Below is an overview of those ecoregions. In the coming sections, we will dive a little deeper into a couple of them and explore how climate change is impacting them differently.

  • Seasonal Ice Ecoregion: Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Foxe Basin, Southern Hudson Bay, Western Hudson Bay

  • Polar Basin Divergent Ice Ecoregion: Barents Sea, Chukchi Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, Southern Beaufort Sea

  • Polar Basin Convergent Ice Ecoregion: Eastern Greenland, Northern Beaufort Sea, Queen Elizabeth Islands, South Greenland

  • Archipelago Ice Ecoregion: Gulf of Boothia, Kane Basin, Lancaster Sound, M'Clintock Channel, Norwegian Bay, Viscount Melville Sound

Map of polar bear subpopulations with ecoregion color code

Step Two

The Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) provides a status table and status assessments that are updated regularly regarding polar bear population size in each of the subpopulations. Explore the two resources found below.

Guiding Question: Do you know what the conservation listing is for polar bears in each of the polar bear nations? Find out more in the Status Report that can be downloaded HERE.

A map of the arctic ocean.

Polar Bear Specialist Group interactive table with most recent subpopulation statuses can be found HERE.

Step Three

After reviewing the information from the PBSG – what new facts have you learned? Share your thoughts in the Discord community.

Polar bear mom and her twin cubs waiting for the sea ice to freeze

Photo: BJ Kirschhoffer / Polar Bears International

Finished?

Continue on to Module 3B – Explore.